Domestic developers changing the game

Vinhomes is one local developer bringing new international standards to locals. Photo: Le Toan

Building on the powerful reputation of Vingroup, Vinhomes has seen tremendous development since its inception, bringing new international standards to the real estate industry while generating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of VND35-40 trillion ($1.5-1.74 billion) each year.

In 2020, according to a new ranking published by Forbes Vietnam in August 2020, Vinhomes JSC has been honoured as the first position in the real estate industry for the past two years and is among the 10 leading brands of Vietnam. Up to now, the company has implementing 49 urban development areas with hundreds of thousands of property products nationwide, including apartment units, villas, and townhouses.

Apart from Vingroup, other domestic developers are also gaining recognition in the residential market, with names like Novaland, Ecopark, Hung Thinh Land, and Nam Long now among the most popular developers.

Some 28 years since its establishment, Novaland now has 50 residential and hospitality projects with more than 60,000 products combining hundreds of facilities of entertainment, leisure, culture, education, and healthcare.

From the very first days, the group has been continuously building its Novaland brand, positioning it as a guarantee for product and service quality. It now has a diverse portfolio of products from housing, officetels, commercial plots, and urban areas to resorts which have been well-received by customers for their outstanding special features and functions.

Meanwhile some other investors are exaggerating their capacity and advertising projects that are not up to the luxury standards they promise.

Tan Hoang Minh Group is one such example. Beginning as a taxi company back in 1993, the group gradually turned to real estate development. Defining itself as a brand for luxury residences priced VND7-20 billion ($304,000-870,500) per unit, founder Do Anh Dung has marked all projects with the company’s signature D’ such as D’. Le Roi Solei, D’. Le Pont D’or and D’. Palais Louis. Tan Hoang Minh’s projects are mostly located in golden land plots in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with each square metre fetching hundreds of millions of VND.

However, apart from the prices, the group has also been notorious for the delays in its projects. Its D’. Palais Louis located in Hanoi has already taken more than 10 years to construct with still no ending in sight. It was started in 2009, designed after the magnificent Palace of Versailles built by King Louis XIV in Paris, France. The ambitious project is marketed for VND135-155 million ($5,870-6,740) per sq.m. Another project in Hang Bai – one of the most luxurious streets of the capital – was delayed for more than 10 years due to difficulties in land compensation and legal documentation. In 2020 Tan Hoang Minh transferred this project to Masterise Homes.

In 2019, residents of D’. Le Roi Soleil in Hanoi, turned to the press with complaints that the group handed over the project at a much lower quality than advertised before. The group was also under fire for handing over this project before fully finishing it, causing inconveniences and endangering residents.

Many other Tan Hoang Minh projects received complaints from buyers, including D’ Capitale where residents are forced to pay a service charge of 85 US cents per sq.m, far higher than the 30-60 US cents market average, for subpar quality.

In 2019-2020, Hanoi saw Hoa Binh Group release luxury apartment units covered in actual gold. Priced around $6,500 per sq.m, Hanoi Golden Lake is one of the most expensive projects of the capital. Hoa Binh Group, however, was found to be in violation by transferring some office for lease space to apartments without permission from competent authorities.

The road for domestic developers to become strong trademarks is long. For the time being, the best way for them to safeguard and build their reputation among buyers is to maintain quality and the committed schedule from the very beginning, while creating a convenient environment for their homebuyers.